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PHILADELPHIA - Even if the Eagles had beaten the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday night, their playoff chances were going to be determined by their game this coming Saturday against Washington.

But the Eagles’ defense, which had lost its two starting cornerbacks to injuries, had no chance against the Cardinals’ vaunted offense. And once the Eagles started turning the ball over in the third quarter, it became academic as the Eagles lost 40-17.

The Eagles (6-8) will be eliminated from the playoff race with a loss to Washington. That would’ve been the case even if the Eagles had won Sunday. The only difference is that the Eagles could’ve clinched the NFC East against Washington had they beaten Arizona.

Instead, an Eagles win over Washington will keep them alive for another week, when they play the Giants in the season finale at MetLife Stadium on Jan. 3.

But it became apparent that if the Eagles are going to make the playoffs, they’re going to do it without DeMarco Murray, the free agent running back they signed to a five-year, $40 million contract.

Murray had just two carries for three yards Sunday. Both carries came in the third quarter. He was only on the field for two plays in the first half.

He was asked if he was surprised by the lack of carries.

“Yeah, a little bit,” he said. “You can only control what you can control and just keep grinding and fighting. It’s out of my control.”

Murray didn’t get a chance when the Eagles had a 4th-and-1 from the Cardinals 8 yard line in the final minute of the first half, the Eagles down by a touchdown. Ryan Mathews carried the ball for no gain.

“We had Ryan in there, he’s a 230-pound back,” Eagles coach Chip Kelly said. “I thought we were going to get it on 4th-and-1.”

When asked if the plan was to not use Murray much at all, Kelly responded: “We were going to rotate the running backs. We didn’t run the ball as much as we wanted to run the ball … I expected us to run the ball better. So obviously, the more carries you have, the more you can distribute that. Then you get behind, and it turns into a little bit more of a throwing game. And that’s what kind of happens in those games.”

Murray was asked if he would want to be on the team next season if this continues.

“Whoever is willing to have me,” Murray said. “This is where I signed up for. So I’ll be here. I signed up to be here. I got an opportunity to make the playoffs.”

But the Eagles seemed a long way from that with the way they played against the Cardinals, who came into the game with the top-ranked offense in the NFL. The Cardinals had no issues dissecting the Eagles’ defense.

Cardinals rookie running back David Johnson ran for 187 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Carson Palmer threw for 274 yards and a touchdown. The Eagles, meanwhile, fumbled the ball away twice and quarterback Sam Bradford threw an interception that was returned 39 yards for a touchdown.

Bradford finished 28 of 41 for 361 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

One of his touchdown passes, however, came well after the game had been decided, when he hit Jordan Matthews on a 78-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. That made the score 37-17. Matthews finished with a career-high 159 yards on eight receptions.

It wasn’t nearly enough against a Cardinals offense that came into the game second in the NFL in scoring with 31.2 points per game and first in yards with 417.5 per game. They had 493 against the Eagles defense. It didn’t help that cornerbacks Byron Maxwell (shoulder) and Eric Rowe (concussion) both left the game for good in the second quarter.

That left E.J. Biggers and Jaylen Watkins in their place. It didn’t matter. The Cardinals took advantage of everything.

That was evident from the start. The Cardinals tried to set the tone on the first play of the game when Palmer threw deep to John Brown, who had gotten behind Rowe. The ball hit Brown in stride, and it would have gone for a 78-yard touchdown, but he dropped it.

No matter, the Cardinals drove methodically down the field and scored anyway, helped by a short pass from Palmer to tight end Brandon Fells, who then carried Maxwell on his back for another 15 yards or so before finally getting pulled down at the 7. Johnson took it in from the 1.

The Eagles came right back with an impressive drive of their own, but settled for a Caleb Sturgis field goal. After a Cardinals field goal, the Eagles tied the game on Bradford’s 22-yard touchdown pass to Zach Ertz with 8:26 left in the first half.

But the Eagles couldn’t contain Johnson, who broke loose for a 47-yard touchdown run, breaking several tackles on the way, giving Arizona a 17-10 lead. Then the Eagles missed on fourth down before collapsing in the third quarter.

Mathews fumbled the ball away at midfield and the Cardinals scored on a 16-yard pass from Palmer to John Brown. Bradford then was intercepted by Deone Bucannon, who returned it 39 yards for a touchdown, giving the Cardinals a 37-10 lead on the first play in the fourth quarter.

So now, the Eagles’ season comes down to the game against Washington. Win, and they’re still alive. Lose, and they’re done.

“I think everyone is a little bit frustrated after the way we played tonight,” Bradford said. “The good news is we have to have a short memory. We have to learn from this one and get ready for Saturday because it’s coming quick and the next two games are really important.”